The Cullen Sextuplets
by akaMick
Summary: When Emmett's practical joke backfires, see what happens during a school year in which the sextuplets aren't allowed to show interest in each other beyond their sibling connection. This is a series of lighthearted, vampire one-shots. It's Emmett's fault!
1. Chapter 1 Meet The Sextuplets

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Beta-in-Chief: Lola...she was a showgirl, but she gave that and her yellow feathers up to beta my little story. (Additional disclaimer: Barry Manilow owns the lyrics to Copacabana)**

**The Cullen Sextuplets**

**Chapter 1 – Meet the Sextuplets**

Carlisle, are you sure about this?" Esme's voice rose to a slight panic, as it usually did when they started over as a family. Sure, there were always risks associated with registering a group of vampires for school where humans walk the halls. But this was different. And now they would be registering six instead of the usual five, but something kept giving her an uneasy feeling.

They inched forward in line, arms linked together, much the way an old fashioned couple would have done. Of course being together since the early 1900's, they usually gave in to what was comfortable for themselves, and not popular for everyone else. They took note of the other parents milling around, standing together, but not really together. Men and women, both on their phones, but obviously not speaking to _each other_. Not true with Carlisle and Esme Cullen. When they were together, they wanted no interruptions. Esme and Carlisle worshipped each other, not their lives. There was nothing, no phone call, no email, or update to their social networking sites that was more important than the opportunity to simply be in each other's presence.

"Relax Dear." Carlisle let go of Esme's arms drawing her in for a hug. "It's going to be fine. You're always nervous when the children start over at a new school. This is just a new procedure they had to instill nowadays to make ensure the children's safety. They just want to meet the parents and verify residency requirements within the district." Carlisle kissed the top of his wife's head and gently blew his breath over her, trying to take her focus off the registration.

"No Carlisle, it's more than that. It's Bella I'm worried about. Are you sure she's ready? I know she feels she is, but when I think back to that poor hunter in Alaska." Esme's voice was low enough to be only heard by Carlisle. The lovely couple was going unnoticed to those around them, apparently, being a breathtakingly beautiful couple was no match for today's shiny new objects of smartphones and iPads.

"Is that what's truly bothering you Dear? Bella? I'm sure she's going to be fine. No one was more horrified than she herself by what she had done to that hunter. Edward thought she was with Alice and Alice thought she was with Edward. No one saw anything because Bella herself didn't know. She was still so young to this life. Besides, that was years ago now. She did fine at the soup kitchen with you, Alice and Rose. Look, we have everything we need now. Our family is all put together. There are no more 'missing pieces'. Edward will keep a close watch over his mate, I'm sure. They'll all be fine. I promise." Carlisle pulled Esme's heart shaped face up to stare into her eyes. "I promise you Esme, they will _all_ be fine. We have nothing to worry about. They're all so excited about going back to school; Emmett even volunteered to do all the paperwork this time." He smiled at his wife and she caved.

"You're right. I don't know why I am worrying so much. Edward wouldn't let anything happen with Bella. Wait Carlisle! Did you just say Emmett filled out the paperwork?" At Carlisle's nod Esme's panicked look returned. "Did you look it over?"

Both Carlisle and Esme's pale skin paled even further as the thought hit them. They each took three of the folders and began shuffling through the papers inside as fast as possible while trying to maintain a human appearance.

"I _think_ it's all okay. I don't see anythi…" Esme's voice trailed off as they heard the woman behind the counter call out.

"CULLEN. CULLEN. CULLEN. CULLEN. CULLEN. CULLEN." An older woman yelled the names out loud while making checkmarks on her clipboard. Looking up, she pushed her glasses higher on her face and smiled after she made eye contact with Carlisle.

"That would be us. Come on Dear, it'll be fine." Carlisle put his arm around his wife and followed the woman into the tiny office behind the counter.

After making introductions and small talk about the weather they began the registration process. The secretary leaned forward.

"How is it that they have no prior school record?" She had her pen in hand and waited on an answer.

"I did the homeschooling myself until last year. Will this be a problem?" Esme looked over at the woman confidently.

"Oh no, we have several children that were homeschooled. This isn't a very large town so you'll probably get to know the other families rather quickly. I do believe that your family is the only set of multiples that have been homeschooled. Of course Mike and Fran Digby's triplets were up until I believe junior high. Seemed like after the kids hit puberty she just couldn't wait to get them out of her hair."

"Triplets?" Carlisle's voice was faint as he and Esme looked over at each other. She reached for his hand nervously.

"Oh yes. We have several sets of multiples. However, until your family showed up, I believe our highest number was a set of quadruplets. We're quite excited to have your group join us."

"My group?" Esme's voice shook slightly with nervousness. She tightened her grip on Carlisle's hand.

"Oh Honey." The secretary shook her head sadly and continued in a whisper. "Infertility is nothing to be ashamed of. My own sister had to try dozens of times before she got pregnant. Course, she only ended up with twins though." The secretary looked knowingly at Esme, as if she shared some secret with her. "Not that she wasn't happy with the twins, she just never felt a need to keep trying."

"Oh." Had she have still been human, Esme Cullen would have blushed with embarrassment. As it was all she could do was look over at Carlisle for help.

"Mrs. Ruby?" Carlisle took a moment to clear his throat before he spoke. "I assure, it was never my wife's and my intention to have such a large family. We did actually try to make our family bigger several times. The fact that we are now the proud parents of sextuplets is a bit of a shock to us as well, but we manage on our own just fine." Carlisle glanced at Esme, who was now catching on to what was being said. "Our children are very close and very protective of each other. They have no behavior problems aside from enjoying a good joke every now and then. They should give you no problems whatsoever."

"And I have to add, that I will be working from home, so if there's any problems that come up, please do not hesitate to call me right away." Esme gave a fleeting thought to her youngest daughter.

"Of course. Just out of curiosity, which one was first? It's not mandatory that the school know, I am just so excited to have them here. I don't remember seeing them on the news though." The secretary looked back and forth between Carlisle and Esme.

"I'm sorry, we tried to keep it out of the papers as much as possible. There were so many concerns over their safety. Um, if you don't mind, we'll just register them in alphabetical order to make things easier?" Carlisle tried to move the conversation along to get the needed task accomplished.

"Right, sure. So, let's start with A. Alice Cullen? Now, tell me all about Alice Cullen." She looked expectantly from Carlisle to Esme and back to Carlisle with a huge grin on her face. They could tell this was going to take a lot longer than anticipated.

Back at the home, the Cullen 'sextuplets' fared no better as they turned on each other. Emmett was pacing in the living room as Alice came running in and jumped on his back. "How could you be so stupid Emmett? Do you realize what you've done?" Alice's voice screeched loudly and they were soon joined by the rest of the family.

"Relax Alice, I just made us all share a birth date. We're still siblings." Emmett reached behind his back trying to pull his sister off.

"Wrong you idiot. When siblings have the same birthdate they're called twins. You gave us all the same birth_year_ as well. Idiot!" Alice screeched again directly into Emmett's ear this time smiling when he winced.

"Alice, twins means there's two. Count us up and you'll see there's six of us. You should know that by now." Emmett's voice was ringing with sarcasm as Rose and Jasper tried to intervene with their mates. Edward and Bella stood nearby with Edward pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head slowly.

"Emmett, you gave all six of us the same birthdate?" Edward groaned at the thought while Alice groaned as Jasper pulled her physically off from Emmett's back.

"What is the big deal? Jasper and Rosalie had the same birthdate a couple of times. So did Edward and I for that matter. And Alice and Edward too." Emmett clearly didn't see the problem yet.

"Emmett, what did you do exactly?" Rose stood in front of her mate crossing her arms in front of her.

"I just gave us all the same birthdate. What's the big deal?" Emmett removed his shirt and peeked over his shoulder to see if Alice had left any marks.

"Wait, you mean the same date only, right?" Rose's eyes became huge as the realization of what her husband had done hit her. "Emmett, tell me you didn't give us all the exact birthdate?"

"Yeah I did. So what?" Emmett stretched his shirt over his head putting his shirt back on, oblivious to the realization that had already hit on everyone else.

"You made us sextuplets? Emmett? Are you kidding me?" Rose's screeching was louder than Alice's as she looked around at her siblings and then back at her husband.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be fun to you know, goof off like that a little." Emmett's mouth turned into a lopsided smile as he looked at his wife.

"Rose, hold on a minute, Carlisle and Esme are coming and they're going to want to talk about it." Alice was standing in front of Jasper, clearly his soothing calm was taking effect on her.

As Carlisle and Esme entered the living room, their glares fell immediately to Emmett.

"I suppose you all figured out what has happened by now?" Carlisle rested both of his hands on his wife's shoulders as they faced the group.

After hearing Emmett explain to the group about how he thought it would be fun to have them all share a birthday and that he didn't think to change the year. Carlisle and Esme were less amused, it was Carlisle himself who burst their balloon when, after giving his own mate a long deep kiss in front of everyone, mentioned that they better make use of their time while they were home. He then pointed out that once they were in public, they could no long show affection to their mate in any way that could be misconstrued by the townspeople. Leaving their sextuplets behind, he and his mate made their way upstairs, leaving Emmett to take on his siblings alone.

"Okay, so I really didn't think that all the way through." Emmett said, defending himself as he plopped down into the couch. As his siblings let him have it, he tried to shift the blame. "Alice, why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't see it. How am I supposed to know what will be decided? You know I don't see anything until the exact moment the decision is made so don't pin this on me." Alice flitted over to Jasper crawling up onto his back laughing. "Come on bro, I have a few things I want to show you upstairs before morning comes." As Jasper turned his head and laughed with his spouse, they took off for their bedroom upstairs.

With one last disgusted look at her husband, Rosalie stormed off in a huff toward the garage. As she reached the door, she turned around to face Emmett, Edward, and Bella. "Don't follow me." It wasn't exactly clear who she was talking to.

"Don't worry Bella, we'll work something out." Edward drew Bella closer to him and stared over her head at Emmett. "You know Em, we've all pulled some pretty stupid stunts. Can't think of any that top this one right now, but I'm sure we've done worse." With a nod to let his brother know that he wasn't so mad at him, he led Bella upstairs where they spent the night getting as close as possible before their impending day of separation.

The first day of school started out with the usual groans from everyone except Bella. The first day of school ended with groans from everyone _including_ Bella. During the course of the day, one kid had taken a liking to Bella. She was teased about it endlessly from Emmett and Jasper both. The fact that Edward couldn't touch her, _really_ touch her during the day was torture for them. He could think of no way at all to mark Bella as 'his' and put off others from pursuing her. Bella, having taken a creative writing course that none of her siblings was interested in soon found herself having to face the kid alone. Her only comfort during those times was the fact that Alice was watching out for her, to make sure she didn't hurt Stevie O'Malley.

After a couple of weeks, he had made it clear that Bella was his intended target. Trying to play it cool, Edward defended his 'sister' without losing his temper around the boy, which would have brought them all into the limelight. It was only after Jasper had seen him trying to corner her and was forced to come to her rescue that the boy, Stevie O'Malley, backed off.

Bella had been backed against the wall, her eyes showing the same fear as that of a caged animal. Her next class was creative writing, the one that no one else in her family had, she had already said her goodbyes and separated from them all. Edward, unable to pick up Bella's thoughts at all, didn't hear Bella's mental screams for help. Her thoughts flying in every direction made the future too uncertain for Alice to pick up either.

As she clutched her books to her chest, Bella's thoughts raced ahead of her. She concentrated on Alice, hoping that she wasn't blocking her. Bella didn't think she was, but all she could focus on was Stevie, and not killing him. She tried in vain to focus her attention on Alice.

Thinking of killing Stevie was out of the question, as it would only cause her to act upon it. She did the only thing she could that would send one of her siblings to her rescue. She thought out in her head, a clear decision. What would happen if she let Stevie do all the awful things he was suggesting in her ear as she stood, trapped by his arms on either side of her, as she was backed against the wall. The thought repulsed and angered her further and she silently willed herself to wait for the help that she knew would be forthcoming any moment. She knew that once a definite decision was made, Alice would see her future shift that included Stevie and her eventual murder of him. Help arrived seconds later in the form of Jasper, who was sharing a history class with Alice that period and was able to get to Bella the fastest after Alice informed him what was happening.

Bella silently cried tears that never fell as Jasper cradled her in his arms and soothed her racing thoughts. To anyone else in the hall, it would look like Jasper was helping his sister. To Bella, it was so much more. It meant the world to her that Jasper loved her, even as a sister. The two of them had long ago buried the hatchet from the times when Jasper had tried to take a nip of Bella. Now, here he was, him comforting her as he knew he could no longer harm her. They skipped that period and went back into the lunch room, Jasper all the while touching Bella's arm so that he would be blocked from Edward's mind. Later, they rejoined their normal routine and were able to make it through the rest of the day.

That night, Bella had to explain what happened at the school to her 'parents', and the rest of the family. They had all went about their day blissfully unaware of what had happened. She explained it fearfully, thinking that Carlisle and Esme might not let her return to the school she had come to love in such a short time. During the 'family conference', it was Jasper who began explaining it for her.

"When Alice told me something was wrong with Bella, I had to go find her. When I got to them, Stevie had her pinned against the wall and she was definitely feeling afraid of him." Jasper threw Bella a confused look, letting her know that he was not attacking her, but that he was confused by her emotion at the time. "Bella, your feeling was one of being terrorized by him."

Bella stood to explain herself, looking around at her family, still seated at the table. Everyone looked concerned and Bella, still able to feel embarrassed, looked to Jasper for help. As she calmed her body down, she looked over at Edward, knowing that he would be the most upset and that he would be the one that she would find the most comfort in.

"Honestly, I don't know how that all happened. I said goodbye to Edward outside of the Algebra room and was almost to the English room when Stevie came up to me. I was looking down at my story so I didn't see him come up to me and by the time I knew what was going on I was already backed against the wall, then he was whispering such horrible things to me. That must be where the feeling of terror comes in." Bella's eyes sent an unnecessary apology to Edward as her embarrassment caused her skin to fake a blush. She couldn't even repeat the awful things that Stevie said he was going to do to her. "Jasper caught on that I felt afraid and he was right. But I wasn't afraid of Stevie himself. I could have easily killed him with no problem for all the disgusting things he was saying to me and I knew that. I was afraid that I actually might kill him and what it would mean for us all. I know we all hate moving on and on. But I really do feel that there is no family I would rather spend eternity with than this one right here." Bella looked around the room again and out of habit, blinked away the nonexistent tears before she began again.

"I know I was the reason we left Forks to start over in Alaska." Bella gave a brief thought to her newborn years spent being 'homeschooled' and babysat by Esme while the others went to a real school. She loved being with Esme but hated that she couldn't be around people, not yet. It was her own stupidity during a late night snowball fight with her siblings that she had come upon the solitary ice fisherman in the woods. It was her sibling's stupidity that she was left alone long enough to take the man down and kill him with her bare hands. In the seconds it took for Alice to comprehend what was happening and for them to find her she already had managed to try to bury the body and done a horrible job of it.

She had been standing by a tree pretending to examine it more closely when her siblings came up to her, Bella felt ashamed as she tried to hide the blood stains that dotted her clothing. She tried denying it at first, but after Emmett and Jasper had found the body, and Edward had confirmed it by looking at her eyes, she had to admit that yes, she had killed a human. That was the end of their stay in Alaska. They couldn't leave right away or it would look suspicious, but they couldn't stay either. Knowing that Bella had killed, and that she might again, they made plans to leave. This was how they ended up in Maryland.

With so many states so close by and within driving distance, it provided a perfect cover for them as they traveled. It was decided that the family would begin serving homeless and indigent people, providing food and medical care for them. This was Carlisle's brainstorm. He thought that instead of isolating Bella, it would be beneficial to introduce her to human's that smelled…less than savory.

Carlisle could have picked no better place than this, they all thought grumpily. Indeed, the smell of a human's blood who existed on canned meat and sometimes ate out of dumpsters was far less attractive than those that existed on steak and real food. The whole Cullen family, including Bella, was for once, safe from the bloodlust that threatened to expose them all. This life lasted only a few years until Carlisle, sensing his family restlessness, decided that Bella might be able to try again and should be able to attend a real high school. He could have said no sweeter words to his newest daughter; who looked forward to school and loved to learn, or to his wife Esme, who looked forward to spending more time alone with just her mate. With happy thoughts of his children not being around them 24/7, Carlisle figured it was a win-win situation for them all.

Bella continued explaining her actions. "And I know I was the reason we had to leave Alaska. I can never apologize enough for that." Bella looked at Rose specifically, knowing it was she that hated to move the most. "I could have killed Stevie so easily. The only thing that stopped me was disappointing all of you. The thought of living in Siberia, or worse, sent back to work at the homeless shelter again, of dragging all of you down with me like that. It was unacceptable. Jasper did feel my fear, that's true enough. But it wasn't the fear of Stevie. It was more a fear of what would happen if I _did_ kill. I don't want to move again. I love it here, and I have my thirst under control so much more now than I did in Alaska. Please Daddy, don't punish everyone for my mistake." Bella's words now came out as almost begging. She was so afraid that Carlisle would decide that it was time to move again that she was almost pleading with him to let them stay and that nothing was wrong at school.

"First of all Bella, you handled things perfectly. I am proud of you and how well you thought out this reaction to save us all from detection. For now, we are staying put. I see no reason to move just because some child has taken a fancy to you Bella. He's no threat to us as yet." Carlisle's words comforted Bella almost as much as Edward's embrace.

Unknown to Carlisle and Esme, the 'Cullen children' as they had called themselves held their own meeting later that night. It was decided that Stevie O'Malley would become to them, here in Maryland, what Mike Newton had been to them in Forks. They would pass up no chance at humiliating him and taking him down a peg or two. Where Bella had once been Mike Newton's friend and defended him on more than one occasion to the Cullen's while she was human, she was a vampire now, and her alliance lay not with pitying the Stevies and Mikeys of the world, but with the Cullen's as they tortured him endlessly. After what Stevie had done to her, she felt no regret in what they were going to do.

The next morning as everyone was getting ready to start their day, Esme ran into Bella in the dining room as she sat reading over her paper for English. She walked up to her and pressed a kiss on the top of Bella's head, a gesture that had always made Bella smile. She felt warm all over as she remembered her 'newborn' days. Although the overall feeling was happiness at Edward for finally having her as a mate, they had still, except Edward and his parents, teased Bella on occasion.

One particular gesture that had them nearly all on their knees howling with laughter, was a reflex that Bella, at the time, had no control over that was discovered quite by accident after her first hunt. She had needed to feed so badly, she was running with them in the woods in a erratic pattern, just hoping to come across something, _anything_, to drink. She had found a moose and sloppily started ripping it's flesh, trying to find the source of the warm scent that overwhelmed her. Watching her with fascination, her new family stood in a circle around her. Edward, thinking he would be helping, advanced too close to newborn Bella and she snapped at him. That was all it took for the family to give Bella a wide patch of land in which to make a mess with her food. Afterward, after she had filled herself with the creature's blood, she collapsed against its carcass while a drunk feeling overtook her. With Edward being too distraught over his mate's reaction to him, he sat silently as Carlisle talked to him and Esme went to comfort her. As Esme slowly advanced on her and crooned to her in a soft voice, Jasper sent waves of calm over them all.

"Alice, didn't you see any of that at all?" Edward growled at her. She defended her actions by saying that she knew nothing of the sort until Bella's wild mind was settled on an animal, and that she had no prior knowledge of _which_ animal Bella would come across first.

The arguing match was soon broken by Jasper's laugh and Esme sweet giggle. Esme had reached Bella and drew her into her arms as they sat on the ground amid the bits of torn moose flesh. She didn't seem to mind as an over-satiated Bella smeared blood from her face and hands all over Esme's clothes. She was crooning happily to a content Bella as Jasper's calm waves hit them. When Esme's face lowered to kiss the top of the girl's head, she had let out a tiny sound. A human would never had been able to make it out, but the vampires in the clearing had no trouble with it.

"Did she just…did she just purr?" Jasper slapped his knee as Bella did it again and caused everyone except Edward to laugh.

Alice danced around them all, spreading her happy giggles and making even Bella laugh as they realized that, just like a newborn, Bella would be easily entertained and easily comforted. Esme, unable to help herself with her newest child cradled in her arms, bent her head to kiss Bella's again and there again was the sound of contentment, louder this time. Bella's eyes closed, and she moved her head closer snuggling further into Esme's embrace.

"Oh sweet one, it's not me that you really want right now. It's Edward, your mate." Esme tried to gently pry Bella's hands from around her as she made eye contact with Edward so he would take over comforting Bella. It had happened time and time again after that and for months until Bella regained control over her body. Whenever she was kissed, whether it was Esme's motherly pecks, or Edward's more ravenous ones, Bella's body let out a purr, causing most everyone who heard it to laugh.

After years of training her new body to react how she wanted it to, she was surprised when Esme's light peck in the dining room caused an involuntary purr to escape from her. She looked up at her startled.

"Bella, did you just purr?" Esme looked down at her with concern as she patted the top of Bella's head.

"Did I?" Bella asked confused as she shook herself from the story she was writing. "I'm sorry Mom, I was just so caught up in my writing that I wasn't paying attention. Since I missed English yesterday I have to turn this in today." Bella took her schoolwork the most serious, trying to keep up with her sibling's years of gained knowledge.

"Are you sure you feel up to going to school today Bella? You could stay home with me if you want to. Even your father said it might be traumatizing to send you today, and he'll agree with me even more after I tell him that you're starting to purr again. No one would blame you if you wanted to stay home." Esme still kept a careful eye on Bella as she gathered her books around her.

"No, I'll be alright. Besides, the last thing I want is the school making a big deal out of this. You know I don't like the attention. Please don't tell daddy about the purring. I don't want to upset him or Edward." Bella quickly hugged her mother running to go change clothes for school.

Carlisle entered the room as quickly as Bella had left it, and at nearly the same speed. His centuries old body showed no signs of aging and he was just as fast as when he was just changed, well, maybe just a tad slower.

Carlisle greeted his wife with a very deep, very long kiss. After they broke apart he questioned her. "Was that Bella?"

Esme, still recovering from the depth of her husband's devotion nodded slowly. She raised a hand and placed it over her husband's unbeating heart gently to make sure he was still dead. "Carlisle, try not to let Edward read your mind right now. But, Bella purred at me." Concern was evident on her beautiful face.

"When?" Carlisle's mind began reciting an article from a medical journal as Esme answered.

"Just now. She was reading over her English paper and as I was asking her how she was doing and if she wanted to stay home from school today I kissed the top of her head. She purred. She pretended that it was no big deal but, Carlisle? She only does that when she's upset about something. She didn't want me to tell you or Edward. Are you still blocking him out?"

"Yes. Maybe yesterday bothered Bella more than she's letting on. Maybe she just doesn't want us to know about it. Do you want me to talk to her?" Carlisle placed his own hand over Esme's hand, still resting gently on his unmoving chest.

"Maybe we should just keep an extra close eye on her. If she didn't attack him yesterday when her emotions were showing, I don't think she will today. I'll talk to Alice and ask her to keep a close eye on Bella, well, closer than normal." Esme looked knowingly at her husband, both of them very aware of Alice's bond with her younger sister.

The laughed together lightly and Carlisle shook his head. "Remind me again why we had sextuplets?" His statement caused his wife a fit of laughter as they thought back to the joke that Emmett had played on them when they had first moved to Maryland. As their children left out of the house for their school day, Carlisle reached around his wife on their porch and mischievously whispered that they should go work on her infertility issues. As they watched the last car disappear down the driveway, that's exactly what they did.


	2. Chapter 2 Sextuplets Celebrate Halloween

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Beta-in-Chief: Lola...she was a showgirl, but she gave that and her yellow feathers up to beta my little story. (Additional disclaimer: Barry Manilow owns the lyrics to Copacabana)**

**Chapter 2 – The Sextuplets Celebrate Halloween**

**Tired of being the newborn vampire, Bella shows she's more than able to take care of herself – finally!**

"This Halloween is gonna be even better than the year we dressed up like the Volturi. Remember that one Alice?" Jasper leaned in closer to his mate and, just like always when Jasper got to close to his mate, things happened. _Feelings_ happened. Unfortunately, they happened to everyone else that was near them too. And when there were two couples lounging around on one bed while those _feelings_ happened, it spelled trouble for everybody involved. Not that Edward minded, he simply reached over for Bella and drew her into his lap, hugging her fiercely.

This was especially true since Emmett's practical joke backfired. Thanks to their 'middle child' sibling, Emmett, they were no longer allowed to be close during the day while they were in school. Of course, it didn't stop Alice and Jasper from finding spaces around the school to 'meet up'. All they had to do was look for the future in Alice's head and get the all clear. Edward and Bella had no trouble with it either thanks to his ability to read minds. And it was Rosalie herself that pointed out to Emmett that it was his own fault that they couldn't be affectionate in public. She seemed to make a game of seeing how far she could make her mate grovel before she gave in to him. Still, it wasn't like in years past where they could freely express their love for each other in front of other students. At times like these however, where they were in the privacy of their own home with no one but another vampire couple around for interruptions, emotions ran high among those in the house.

"Jazz, can you concentrate on the plan for a minute please? I need your help!" Bella regretfully escaped from Edward's grasp and kneeled on the bed, her hands resting casually on her thighs. She needed to say no more as the feeling in the room became instantly lighter, but also somewhat nervous. Jasper picked up on Bella's emotions and spread them around for everyone. The lustful mood moved out of the room like stormcloudsstorm clouds and was replaced by a sense of urgency and seriousness. Between the four of them, they sobered up and got down to business.

"Thanks Bella." Jasper commented dryly as he reluctantly released Alice's gaze.

"Hey, with the vibes you were throwing off, be glad she didn't lay her hands on you." Edward gave a nod to Bella's hands, now resting comfortably in her lap.

Indeed, the whole family, even Rose, had come to appreciate Bella's gift. Once the raging fires had stopped wracking her body and she had outgrewoutgrown her 'newborn' phase, the family was pleasantly surprised to discover Bella's gift of blocking. Games became more fun, and cheating was now kept to a minimum and reserved only for special occasions when the family just needed a laugh. And everyone appreciated the fact that birthdays and special occasions could now be a genuine surprise. No longer having to be thrown together in a moment notice to distract Edward and Alice, they could have elaborate events planned months in advance. The one downside, and it was only to Edward's and Bella's outlook, is that Bella had become acutely aware of this ability to block others with her touch and was now always conscious of where she lay her hands.

Often she folded them together and placed them in her lap, but then found that she fidgeted with her fingers and fingernails so she began placing them in her pockets or resting them on her thighs when sitting. It gave her the appearance of being much more stiff and unapproachable at the high school they now attended. This was a good thing though, as it kept others from seeking a closer relationship with her. And after Emmett's stupid registration joke backfired, it became even more handy. The Cullen's were no longer allowed to touch each other at school. This was due solely to Emmett, and his siblings, Rose in particular, did not let him forget it. Not only did it make the day worse for them, but it also let other students in the school think they might have a chance with one of them, since they weren't a couple.

It had been Emmett who had talked to Mr. Jenks about the paperwork needed for them to start over. In hindsight, Carlisle and Esme both recognized that the fault ultimately lay with them, having entrusted something so important to someone who was known for mischief. Emmett had requested that the birthdates of all his siblings match. Carlisle and Esme had no clue until they had tried to register their 'children' for school and the secretary made and offhand comment about her own sister's infertility issues. Noticing the blank stares she received from Carlisle and Esme, she whispered nonchalantly that having sextuplets is nothing to be ashamed of and that nowadays there were several large multiples in one family and even several in the school, although sextuplets was the new school record. Realizing their dilemma, they made up a cover story and requested that all the children be placed in the same grade, and how they didn't like to advertise it because the children liked to be considered as separate individuals.

It had taken all of 30 thirty seconds for Emmett's 'wombmateswomb mates' to rat him out after Carlisle and Esme arrived home. After a stern talk by Carlisle, which involved a quick call placed to Mr. Jenks himself, it was only Emmett's comment about how close the bond was with his siblings that he just wanted to show it to everyone. His only saving grace was that he used Edward and Bella's anniversary date, when their family became complete. This immediately set Rose into a rage for not using their own anniversary, while at the same time had Edward and Bella defending Emmett's actions for thinking of them. Within a few hours, everyone realized just how funny the whole situation was and the anger partially subsided.

Later that week, while Edward, Bella, and Alice were out buying school supplies for everyone, they were repeatedly asked which sextuplet they were and what their birth order was. Of course, to keep their story straight, it was Edward who decided that they should just use the time of when they joined the Cullen family, thus making him the oldest.

The month of September was angst filled as the siblings spent their first month at school making Emmett pay for his actions. But for how awful September was, the month of October was spent finding ways to navigate through the school halls without mates. The whole family now treated it as a game of sorts, finding their mate and a secluded spot in the school and making use of the few minutes between classes. They teased each other mercilessly and there were constant dead ends of information as Edward would tell Alice that he saw Jasper by the gym or Rosalie would tell Bella that Edward was near the main entrance when he was in the library. The month of October was flying by and soon it was time to get ready for one of their family's favorite holidays.

If not for Stevie O'Malley's infatuation for Bella, the couples would be sitting around talking about the Halloween party they were going to throw for the unsuspecting townsfolk. As it was, Bella was so distraught over the unwanted attention that she couldn't concentrate, which in turn made Edward unfocused which threw Alice into a tailspin as futures and destinations became increasingly fuzzy in her head. It was decided that for everyone's general well-being the Stevie situation would be dealt with immediately.

With Carlisle and Esme out hunting with Emmett and Rosalie, a decoy thought up by Emmett as he was still trying to make amends for his joke backfiring, the two couples now sat on Edward and Bella's bed, and mademaking plans for their party and the best way to get even with Stevie. Alice's visions confirmed what Edward was thinking in his head. A strategy thought up by Jasper who was a mastermind at plans of attack, whether they occurred on a battlefield or at a costume party in the basement of their very own home. Edward fought against the idea, but once Alice confirmed it, even Bella had to admit that it had merit.

"I've seen it happening Edward. It's perfect. Nothing will go wrong. And if we do it this way, having a costume party, there will be a little something extra in it for the five of us." Alice's eyes took on a blank stare as the image unfolded ad Edward saw it. He immediately explained what it was to Jasper and Bella and as Alice's eyesight returned and the vision faded, their minds were made up. Bella would pretend to fall for Stevie.

The plan was not without its pitfalls though. Edward had come a long way since his 'protect human Bella at all costs' days, but he still had trouble being without her for extended periods of time. The days at school were hellish for him, but not unbearable. To hear Edward explain it, Bella made it easier for him by rubbing her scent on chairs and tables or by touching the doorframe of a room she knew Edward would be using that day. As long as he could pick up her scent, he fared better, knowing that she was there and that she did exist. Alice replaying the vision of Stevie cornering Bella in the hallway would never fade completely but knowing that she was leaving her scent behind to comfort him, helped.

"Okay, so, I can start doing this tomorrow." Bella's eyes lost the doubt within them as she threw Alice a pleading stare. "And you'll keep watching for me right Alice?"

"Of course sisterSister. Just remember, if you get yourself in a bind, make sure to think _one coherent_ thought that would shift your future." Alice leaned over and hugged Bella tightly, making sure not to touch their skin together.

"Okay. I can do this, I have to do this. For all of us." Bella's mind began focusing more clearly on the details of the Halloween party. "Since it's on a Saturday anyway, I think we should have it that night." After getting the go ahead from everyone else, they began to go over the details of Jaspers plan.

The next day at school, Bella said a casual goodbye to Edward and nonchalantly rubbed against him as she left his side. She waited until he turned the corner before she spoke, knowing that he would still hear her spoken voice even if he couldn't hear her thoughts. Turning the corner she called out to the boy who had caused her a world of hurt just last month.

"Stevie, I'm so glad I caught up to you!" Bella worked hard to make her voice sound breathless.

"Bella!" Taken by surprise, Stevie stumbled slightly.

"Oh, are you okay?" Her voice dripping with concern, Bella reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, being careful not to touch too hard. As her skin came into contact with his sweater, she could barely hide her grimace behind her smile. Stevie, thrilled by the sudden attention, never even noticed as he slowed his steps and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone he could show off to.

"Yeah, of course." He said with a cocky grin. "How _you_ doin'?" Stevie raised an eyebrow and nodded his head in an attempt to mimic a popular sitcom line. Bella barely suppressed her groan as she answered him.

"Well, I could be doing better. You see, my siblings and I are allowed to have a Halloween party this year, but, since we just moved here, we're having trouble finding people to ask us out. So I think I might just find myself without a date for my own Halloween party. Could my life _be_ any more pathetic?" Bella's last line was delivered in the same tone of voice as another sitcom character; she snickered as Stevie's face lit up when he recognized it.

"I thought you didn't like me Bella. Your brother sure did make it clear that day I was talking to you in the hall." Stevie reminded Bella of Jasper's interference in their last conversation.

'talking Talking my foot' Bella thought, but her words came out much cooler. As they entered their classroom, Bella smiled back at him before adding. "Well, you know how older brothers are, so overprotective. Don't forget, I'm the baby of the family." Bella's last statement came out in a cutesy voice that would have done the flirtatious Rosalie proud. "They're just watching out for me, you know, being in a new school and all. I'm sure Jasper just misread your intentions."

"Sure, so hey, when is this party?" Stevie raised his voice so others could hear and make himself sound more important in the process.

"Oh, it's Halloween night, so make sure you don't make plans for that Saturday okay? I mean, you don't have to go with me, but if you have nothing better…" Bella's words were lost as he jumped at the chance of being with her.

"It's alright Bella, sure I'll take you to your Halloween party." Stevie's voice was raised a decibel as he cut her off.

Bella looked around and saw that they now had an audience and that he had raised his voice on purpose. She once again channeled her inner Rosalie and smiled at everyone before she addressed them. "Halloween night, my family is having a Halloween party at our house out on Oak Grove road. Make sure to be there by 7pmseven pm." She smiled sweetly as she thought of her family's plan. The thought of revenge against Stevie made her smile wider.

Bella gave one fleeting thought to her new father, Carlisle and how much he abhorred violence and rationalized it away by telling herself that Stevie wouldn't actually be physically harmed. Mentally scarred maybe, but not for life. Certainly horror movies playing in theatres nowadays were much worse than what they had planned. With a satisfied smile she gave an even briefer thought to her human father Charlie, still the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington. She briefly thought of how he had fought for justice on a daily basis and that he would be proud of her for standing up for herself. As she focused on her favorite subject, she began to really look forward to Halloween.

At the Cullen house, Carlisle and Esme needed little convincing that a party would be fun and a good way for the 'children' to fit in more. Alice had already cordoned off the basement entrance to the house with genuine 'CAUTION - POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS' tape, which was a gift Jasper had given her. Jasper didn't tell, and everyone knew better than to ask where Jasper had purloined the rolls of black and yellow tape from. Alice lined the path that wound around to the back of the house and to the basement door with it. Talk shifted back and forth between costumes and decorations as they all decided what to wear. Rosalie surprised Emmett by saying that she already had their costumes and that they would be arriving soon. She neglected to tell him that they had already arrived and were hidden deep in Alice and Jasper's closet, a place where even Jasper dared not go.

Bella gasped when she saw the costume Alice wanted her to wear. She was to be a vampire bat, complete with a skintight black bodysuit and a headband with cute little ears on it. For Bella and Edward both, the costume's only saving grace was the fact that the 'wings' were really more of a cloak. Alice patiently explained that she could always wrap the wings around herself, just like a genuine bat does, a fact which Edward appreciated every bit as much as her. Alice had stuck her tongue out as she gave Edward his own vampire costume, to which he simply looked bored at before laying it across the bed.

"Since Bella is going as a bat, you are going as a vampire. From point 'A' to point 'B', one extreme to the other. It's perfect. No high school kid will make a connection there." She clapped her hands in excitement.

Alice herself had followed Rose and Bella with the skintight costume. Her long black dress that flared out at the bottom fit her tightly and clung everywhere. As she put the long black wig on her head, she heard Jasper sharp intake of breath. She smiled and blinked slowly. As she smiled and slowly spoke French to him, Jasper was already reaching for her and leading his Morticia down the hall.

Throughout the school days leading up to the party, Bella found herself swallowing down venom as her body mass produced it. The things Stevie suggested to her on a daily basis now no longer scared her as she thought of the payback that was coming. She told herself constantly that this was for the better of society and that boys like Stevie needed a little scaring to set them straight. She rationalized it away by telling herself that she was Charlie Swan's biological daughter and Carlisle Cullen's adopted daughter and that she was fighting for justice to stop Stevie before he hurt anyone. Alice helped by talking to her and letting her know that if Bella didn't put a stop to this teasing that Stevie might actually act out his intentions on someone else, less able to take care of themselves than she. Of course, all it took to erase Stevie and his awful suggestions from her mind was time with Edward immediately after school.

In fact, there had become a sort of 'ritual' now at the Cullen household where everyone left right after school and went straight home to do their 'homework' with their 'study partner'. The first few times it happened it left Carlisle and Esme speechless as they were nearly knocked off their feet. Now they knew better than to stand in the way of the staircase. They laughed as they sat back and watched the couples speed to their rooms to study. Schoolwork truly being the last thing on their minds, it was only a matter of time before they joined up in one of the bedrooms and began talking more of the Halloween holiday.

And so it came the night of the party. Carlisle and Esme left for Maine to spend a long weekend alone and leaveleaving the kids to their friends. Edward and Jasper had gone hunting deep in the woods and mademaking an effort to bring back jars of fresh animal blood for their pranks. They kept these jars hidden deep in the back of the refrigerator in the basement, among the soda cans and now water filled bottles of alcohol, stolen and cleaned from the local bar's dumpster. The Cullen's knew, all they had to do was show themselves drinking the 'red wine' among themselves, as well as pouring the 'alcohol' into a punch bowl filled with an overly sweet punch, the silly high school kids wouldn't know the difference. They would have no idea they were being duped and by the time everyone's sugar high kicked in the room would be buzzing, just in time for their prank on Stevie. They also knew that all it would take was one person to start a trend and the rest would follow suit, unable to truly think for themselves.

Halloween began with everyone gathering in the basement for last minute preparations. The menu was decided by Alice and when the others questioned her decision to serve submarine sandwiches she defended herself.

"Really you guys, it's perfect! What better to serve on Halloween than animal flesh on a bun?" Her matter of fact tone caused everyone to groan as the smell of the meat filled the air.

With the basement completely done, it was time to get ready for their show. Emmett, desperate to get back into his siblings good graces had volunteered to be their star attraction and was practicing with Jasper and Edward, grimacing each time. As the couples left the basement to change in the Halloween costumes, Bella looked over her shoulder for a last look at the basement, now filling with fog from a smoke machine. She unconsciously reached for Edward's hand, and knewknowing without a doubt that his own hand would immediately find hers. With her own mind in overdrive, she had wanted to at least give her husband a few moments of peace.

"Are you kidding me?" Emmett's voice boomed overhead, causing Edward and Bella to hurry up to the third floor where Bella knew enough to release her blocking from Edward so he could figure out what was going on and fill her in later.

"So they goofed, it's not my fault." Rose shrugged nonchalantly as she eyed the black outfit on a hanger. Typical of Rosalie, she was more concerned for herself and how she would look in the outfit that was meant for Emmett.

"Rosie, are you seriously going to wear that?" Emmett whined as he picked up the ruffled, light blue monstrosity to eye it more closely.

"I don't have a choice now do I? And neither do you so just suck it up for one night." Rosalie caught sight of Edward's now empty hand and winked at him as she suppressed her smirk. Edward gave the slightest of smirks to let Rosalie know he acknowledged her and then he led Bella away to get dressed.

"What's going on Edward?" Bella asked in a quiet voice as she started closing the door.

"Well, let's just say it's not a complete accident that Emmett and Rose's costumes became mixed up." Edward said reaching for his own costume and handing Bella hers with a frown.

"What do you mean?" Bella's confusion caused her brows to practically meet in the middle of her forehead.

"You'll see what I mean when we meet them downstairs. Just get changed Bella." Edward was in and out of his clothing in record time as he sat waiting patiently for his wife.

Bella was stunned as she dressed. Having lost her embarrassment years ago, she had no problem changing in front of Edward and nearly changed as quickly as he did knowing that they were running out of time and that guests would soon be showing up. She soon had her own outfit on and as she stepped into the black ballet flats that she preferred over heels, she reached again for Edward's hand. He gave her a quick kiss as he explained how torturous it was going to be to keep away from her that night especially when she looked so exquisite.

As they made their way down the stairs, still holding Edward's hand, she could feel the vibrations from his body as he started to laugh. "Priceless." He mumbled as they entered the basement.

There, in all his powder blue, lacy glory was Emmett, crammed into a dress, complete with saddle shoes and a bonnet.

"Emmett, what on Earth happened?" Bella's hand flew to her mouth before she could say something she would regret.

"Just a little mixupmix-up in the costumes, that's all Bella dear, nothing to worry about." Rosalie, in her clinging black spider costume walked up behind 'little Little miss Miss muffett' Muffett' and put her arm around his waist. Emmett smirked as he drew Rosalie in for a bear hug and began tickling her.

"MixupMix-up my foot blondie. You did it on purpose and tonight you _will_ pay." Emmett's voice was gruff and totally out of character for 'little Little miss Miss muffett'Muffett', but as Rosalie's laughter filled the basement everyone knew they were in for a fun night.

Bella joined in the laughter with everyone else and only stopped after Edward reached for her and pulled her over to the side.

"Bella, are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to, you can always back out." Edward placed his hand on Bella's still heart and staredstaring into her eyes.

"No Edward, I can't back out. I can't give him the chance to hurt someone else the way he hurt me. He may not have done anything physically to me, but mentally is enough. You didn't hear the things, the awful…" Bella's voice broke as she fell into Edward's arms. He moved one arm around her, drawing her closer as his hand found her chest again. Bella sighed as she felt the connection.

"It's still there Edward and it didn't start beating again so you don't have to worry. It will never bat beat again and its stillness is just for you. As long as there is no beat left in my heart, the stillness will always only ever be for you." Bella stood on tiptoe to kiss her mate. As she did so, Jasper came up to them carrying a tray of wine glasses filled with a red liquid.

"It's showtimeshow time, the first of our guests is walking down the path now." Jasper's voice was barely above a whisper but the vampires in the room heard him with no problem.

"Let's do this then. The quicker we get this done and over with the sooner we can kick everyone out and be alone." Emmett's voice was no louder than Jasper's had been and it was evident by the look on everyone's faces that the sentiment was the same for them all.

They each held a wineglass filled with animal blood which was giving off the appearance that they had been drinking already. The garbage filled with empty bottles was prominently displayed next to the refrigerator. As they said a quick 'cheers' in front of the students and downed the last of their 'wine' in front of them, Alice gathered up the glasses to rinse them out and place them in the sink. Rose and Emmett were already handing out glasses of 'spiked' punch as Jasper and Edward collected the various bottles people brought with them and offered to put them in the fridge and behind the bar for safekeeping. There was no way they were going to let the kiddies from the local school get trashed on their watch. This would only bring down the local authorities and worse, Carlisle and Esme. Edward kept a close watch on Bella once Stevie arrived and dimmed the lights while Alice turned on the special effect lighting she created.

Emmett took everyone's barbs in stride as they commented on his 'girlie' outfit. As upset as he was about it, everyone had to agree that if any male was going to pull off dressing as a little girl, it would be broad shouldered and well-built Emmett. So secure in his own masculinity he repeated over and over throughout the night, 'not too many men can pull this off you know'.

About an hour into the party, when Stevie was getting too touchy feely for Bella's liking, she excused herself to use the bathroom. As she passed by Little Miss Muffet she pulled him to one side. "It's time Emmett." She whispered urgently.

She then walked outside briefly to gather her wits and some fresh air before heading back. She knew that Edward was watching her closely and if she didn't come right back he would join her; as soon as he shook off his own female admirers of course.

She went back inside, and foundfinding Emmett talking to Stevie now, each of them trying to be the bigger man and show off more. Stevie had insulted Emmett's costume to which Emmett came back with a joke about Stevie's phantom of the opera costume by saying that he was so ugly he didn't even need the mask on. The kids that gathered around laughed and thinned out, obviously finding better things to do as the games that lined the basement started being used. As the bells and whistles of the arcade games and dart boards started up, Emmett took Stevie aside and told him to be careful with his little sister, only half joking as he handed him a glass of the punch.

"You know what I'm saying man? You hurt her, I'm gonna hafta hurt you. Got that boy?" Emmett gently jabbed his finger into the kids chest, knowing that it would feel like a regular jab to him.

"You're sister's a big girl you know. She can take care of herself. What is it with you people? Your eyes are all over each other all the time. It's creeping me out how you all look at each other, like your you're pieces of meat." Stevie shook Emmett's hand off him as he started back for Bella, who was walking past Edward and touching his shoulders lightly to calm his unraveling state.

"Emmett, quit giving Stevie a hard time. He's my guest you know." Bella smiled at Stevie as she joined them.

"Sure sisSis. I was just saying to Stewie here…" Emmett was cut off by the boy correcting his name.

"It's SteVie. With a V not a W." Stevie looked at Emmett with an expression of annoyance.

"Right, Stevie. Got it. So, I was just saying to Stevie SteVie here that he better treat you right or else I'm gonna have to teach him a lesson." Emmett made a show of flexing his muscles which bulged under the pretty blue dress. Bella couldn't help but laugh at Stevie's expression, clearly taken back by the size of Emmett's muscles and seeing their true size under the close fitting dress.

As Bella and Stevie admired Emmett's muscles, Edward walked up to the group. With his eyes narrowed he glanced first at Stevie and then pointedly at his Bella as his eyes blazed with anger. Bella smiled gently and made a show of swallowing and reaching for her throat. Edward now knew exactly what Stevie was suggesting to Bella as the same thoughts he had once spoken played out in his mind. Following their plan and wanting to begin the torture of Stevie, Edward reached for Bella, always mindful that he not touch her skin so he didn't lose the thoughts in Stevie's head.

"You causing trouble again little sister?" Edward let his breath wash over Bella as he breathed in her scent, trying to calm himself as he made it appear that he was just roughhousing with his sibling.

"Just showing off my muscles to Stewie here bro." Emmett smirked and nodded his head yes after Stevie corrected him again. "Yeah, that's what I said, Stevie."

Edward's eyes burned bright gold and Bella even noticed bright gold flecks she had never seen before. He was at least keeping his temper even as his voice betrayed his calm demeanor and he spoke, leaning one arm on Emmett's shoulder casually. "Emmett, didn't dad always tell you to be kind to dumb animals? Stevie here is as dumb as they come. I mean really? Trying to date a girl that has three older brothers? How smart could he possibly be?" Edward looked at Stevie now, daring him to step out of line. He wasn't disappointed.

"Listen, I know it's all cool, but Bella is _my_ date tonight. I've had just about enough of this shindig. Let's go Bells." Stevie gave a rough tug on Bella which made her gasp, not because it hurt but because it surprised her.

"You know, we were just about to start the real party games. Too bad you guys are leaving. Bella, did you want another drink before you head out?" Emmett handed Bella a glass of animal blood in a wine glass from behind the bar where Jasper and Alice stood knowingly, dishing out drinks and keeping track of who was drinking what.

"Sure, thanks." Bella's face brightened and she looked at Stevie briefly as she offered it to him. "Thirsty Stevie?" She asked him innocently.

Stevie, not wanting to look like a chicken in front of any of the Cullens greedily took the wine glass from Bella and put his lips to it. He inhaled the scent of the blood but disregarded it in favor of looking cool in front of everyone. He took a huge swig of the blood before handing the glass back to Bella and gagging, barely able to swallow.

"What's wrong Stew? Can't hold your liquor?" Emmett smacked him on the back and shook him roughly as he noticed how sick Stewie, uh, Stevie looked.

"That's _not_ wine. What are you giving me to drink?" Stevie was hunched over and had his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath, still trying to hold back the feeling of vomit.

Bella sniffed the glass and made a show of taking a swallow before handing it over to Edward and Emmett who both took a sip. "Tastes fine to me, very good actually. Is that the red import from Romania? Dad's going to be pissed when he finds out we drank it." Bella looked over at Edward and smiledsmiling as she raised her eyebrows. "Edward, what do you think of it?"

"Very good year. I admit, it is strong, but the Romanian reds usually are. I just don't think Stevie here is used to holding his alcohol." Edward slapped the boy gently on the back which still caused the boy to lurch forward, his hand now on his stomach. He eyed the door quickly as he looked up at Edward and Emmett finishing off the glass and handing it to Jasper for a refill.

Stevie visibly shuddered as he saw Jasper pour two glasses of wine from a bottle in the refrigerator. The liquid even looked wrong, thicker than a normal wine should look. Jasper smirked at Stevie before making a show of taking a swig from the bottle and swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing and shaking his head lightly, clearly enjoying the chilled blood. It had the desired effect on the boy as he convulsed again and watched them handing the bottle and glasses around and thinking nothing of swallowing.

Stevie looked around and noticed that everyone else was still enjoying themselves and clearly enjoying the games and music. "You're all crazy." He said, his eyes wide with fear and still holding his stomach.

Bella took seemed to be enjoying the boy's discomfort and the sicker Stevie got, the more confident she felt. Gaining the upper hand was clearly having a positive effect on her ability to think coherently and work their plan.

"Stevie, you really can't handle the drinking can you? No one else is complaining. I think our tastes are just more sophisticated than yours. I mean, look around, everyone else is having a good time." Bella made a sweeping gesture with her batwing, motioning to the rest of the room and the party, and also allowing Stevie a generous view of her showing off her figure underneath. "Maybe you just need something to eat?" Bella took the platter of meat from Jasper's hands and offeredoffering it to Stevie, making sure to place it directly under his nose so he could smell the cold cuts layinglying on the slices of bread. It worked and Stevie pulled his head away from the plate quickly. His expression let Bella know that she was on the right track.

"Maybe not." She smirked at him now. How about some fresh air? Maybe a walk in the woods will help you feel better." Bella rubbed Stevie's back, careful not to be too rough with the human. She smiled as he nodded and reached for her hand.

"Let's go Bella. I've had enough of your family." As Stevie dragged Bella toward the door leading outside Bella reached back quickly and took the bottle of 'wine' from Alice's hands. Emmett and Edward were quickly on their heels.

"Dude, we're sorry. Didn't mean to make you do anything you didn't want to. Seriously, I thought you could hold your alcohol." Emmett took the bottle from Bella and took a generous swallow of it. As he pulled the bottle from his lips he made a show of licking and smacking them together. "Good stuff Stevie, you don't know what you're missing."

"Emmett, quit hogging it, you know you're really starting to piss me off big brother." Bella roughly grabbed the bottle back from Emmett and held it out, offering it to Stevie. As he shook his head violently she shrugged and took another sip, making just as big of a show as Emmett had. She slurped greedily one more time before turning a sick, blood soaked smile on Stevie. He turned his head quickly away as he looked around for someplace else to go but found himself surrounded by Edward and Emmett while Alice, Jasper and Rose stayed behind, trying to distract the other partygoespartygoers.

"Slow down Bella, you don't want to overdo it like last year." Emmett reached to take the bottles again and Bella reached for his hand, making sure to grab his wrist violently. With a sick twist, she growled menacingly at him and then snapped his hand off. Emmett made a show of howling in pain as he grabbed his stumpy wrist with his good hand. He turned as if to cradle it to his chest and lookedlooking over at Stevie who was now as pale as the moon.

"Bella, Bella, you just….you just ripped off his hand!" Stevie reached for his stomach as he lurched forward stopping only when Bella put her hand on his shoulder. Edward reached forward and picked picking up Emmett's twitching hand from the ground, making a show of brushing off the dirt and leaves that stuck to it.

"Silly boy. It's just a trick. Watch." Bella roughly took Emmett's twitching hand from Edward and reached over to grab at his stumpy wrist. She connected the two ends and watched as the material hissed together, knitting new skin to cover the rips in the old skin. The whole procedure took only moments but the brief look of pain flashing across Emmett's face was all that Stevie needed to see as he vomited forcefully into the ground where the wrist lay twitching before Edward rescued it.

"Come on Stevie." Edward held up his own wrist and made a show of pretending to rip it off. "Don't tell me you never say that one before. It's so old. I mean, did you even see any blood?" Edward reached over and took Emmett's other hand and held it up with his. "Hey, hey Stevie, watch this." The small group counted backward from three as if waiting for a rocket launch. As they finished saying 'one' Edward and Emmett ripped each other's hands off and quickly reattached them to each other. The skin hissed before knitting together. Emmett's much bigger f hand looked ridiculously out of place on Edward skinnier arm and Edward's meticulously kept fingers and nails looked okay considering Emmett's costume, but were sorely out of place on the muscled arm.

Bella slapped Stevie roughly on the back, ever careful of watching her strength. "See, just party tricks, that's all. See? No blood." Bella gave each hand a high five as they were held out on the wrong arms. "Want to see something even cooler?" Bella's mouth turned up into an evil smile.

"I think I better just…" Stevie rose to his feet and slicked his hand through his hair, attempting to make himself more presentable in the presence of the Cullens.

"You can't leave now Stevie. The party is just starting." Bella said forcefully as she tried to keep herself from going too far. She reached over and took his hand as if she was going to rip it off.

He snapped his hand back from her and clutched it to his chest as he watched Edward and Emmett ripping their body parts off and switching them on each other in a life-size version of Mr. Potato Head. Bella snickered at the sight before her but clearly hand no intention of ruining her 'brothers' fun.

"Just remember Stewie, it's all in fun and games until someone loses an eye." Edward reached over and poked at Emmett's left eye, causing it to pop from the socket. He quickly reached for it and after popping his own out, ; he replaced it with Emmett's while Bella took his beautiful green eye and handed it over to Emmett to use.

The game went on and on until Stevie's color went from white to absolutely green. Edward and Emmett had switched so many body parts that if not for the costume, Bella wouldn't know who was her husband and who was her brother. She laughed maniacally as Stevie fell to his knees and slumped over, passed out from the sight. She nudged him with her foot, and then shrugged as she looked up at the men in front of her. She grinned and then snickered, and then let out a laugh as she took in the mixed up sight before her.

There stood Edward and Emmett, dressed as a vampire and little Little miss Miss muffettMuffett. Their bodies a mismatch game of parts and colors. She looked adoringly into her husband's green and brown set of eyes and then launched herself onto him, unable to help herself.

"Thank you both so much. He's out of it completely. Are you ready for phase two?" As she lay cradled against Edward's chest, she noticed a strange feeling on her chest. She looked down and gasped as she noticed a huge hand attached to her husband's arm reach over and touch her breast.

"Emmett!" Edward scolded and shovedshoving Bella gently away as he smacked his brother's hand from her body.

"Sorry bro, it was probably gonna be my only chance." Emmett's smile on his own body smirked as he laughed at Bella's expression.

"Okay, if you're done playing with me, we have a job to finish. Are you ready?" Bella reached over and grabbed at Emmett's wrist as she wrenched her husband's hand from it. Between the three of them they made quick work of straightening out their bodies and finishing up the last of the bottle of 'wine'.

Emmett and Edward picked up Stevie's body, and each draped draping an arm over their shoulder as they half dragged, half walked him into the basement.

Bella ran just ahead of them and pretended to be mad at Stevie as her 'brothers' dumped him over on to the couch.

"He can't even hold his alcohol. He clearly can't keep up with me. I don't know why I wasted my time with him." Bella sniffed as she leaned into Rose's shoulder, pretending to vacillatate between being upset by Stevie's condition and mad that he couldn't keep up with her drinking. The other kids in the room appeared interested enough but to them it just looked like a teenage drama unfolding, and they clearly didn't care enough about Stevie to bother with it. The girls in the room looked on sympathetically at Bella and angrily at Stevie, still passed out on the couch.

"It's okay Bella. He's not worth enough to bother with." Alice said as she handed her sister another glass of 'wine'. "I called him a cab by the way, ; the boys can walk him out to it when it arrives." Alice started handing out more drinks to the unknowing crowd. With Jasper's help, the room started getting boisterous again, the kids now clearly happy thinking that they were really drinking and able to drink Stevie under the table. As the party went on around them again, Bella was surprised to look up a short time later and see that Stevie was gone from the couch.

She looked around and made eye contact with Edward as she walked toward him, laughing as she noticed that he was surrounded by all girls. She met his eyes and grinned, knowing that he could pay attention to them all because when the time came, it would be she that he would stay with forever.

"So, bro, what'd you do with the stiff?" Bella said as she nodded in the direction of the couch.

"Cab. Paid the driver off to make sure that he gets in the house. Guess we should clear out all the alcohol bottles before the cops come huh?" Edward glanced around, clearly enjoying all the attention of his admirers and how easily impressed they seemed to be at the threat of the police coming.

"Oh, Alice and I can take care of that, you just go on and enjoy your party." Bella grinned evilly as she spread her wings, again showing off her body and Edward was powerless to do anything about it except drool venom.

As word went around that the cops were coming, the crowd thinned out quickly. Everyone started leaving and there was a mad rush of cars pulling out of the driveway. The siblings went inside to straighten up and dispose of all the props that were used that night. Declaring the night a success Alice mentioned to Bella that she was pretty sure that they would hear no more from Stevie.

"Why only pretty sure Alice?" Edward's face contorted as he tried to read Alice's mind.

"Well, Stevie's car is still out in front. Depending on how he comes to get it…a tow truck? Wait…Emmett! That's a brilliant idea!" Alice squealed as she launched herself up the stairs, causing her siblings to follow.

Alice stood next to Stevie's car and motioned for her siblings to join her in picking a side as she lifted a corner of it up. They joined her and spent the better part of the next 20 minutes moving Stevie's car from their property, into Silver Lake. They would have made much faster time if not for having to put the car down every time they saw a human.

"Well that will do it." Alice said as she took off running back to their house. "No more Stewie. He's going to steer clear of us for the rest of the year." As the rest of her family followed suit, still dressed in their Halloween costumes, they all took off in different directions. Clearly they wanted to waste no more time with anyone other than themselves.


End file.
